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Help me choose 1 of 3 Lian Li cases - Please!

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Randyman...

Randyman...

Member
​
Joined
May 8, 2004
I'm looking to upgrade to the "upper echelon" of cases, and Lian Li is at the top of my list. My main PC (PC#1 in my sig) is built in an Antec SLK-3000B. I really like that case, but I need more room for my Video Card (any newer video card hits my 6 HD's :( ) and more HD Bays. Yes this is a wordy post for a friggin' case, but this is a $250-$300 investment so I think it is appropriate :p . I'm looking to buy tonight if possible, so I'd REALLY appreciate any quick feedback from the lovely OCF Community :beer:

So - primary needs are:
  • Holds 6 HD's with good airflow (more HD slots are welcomed)
  • Room for a long video card (8800GTS) with all 6 HD's in there
  • Good airflow in general for an OC'd q6600/Ultra120 and chipsets
  • Good wire managment
  • Not tooooooo big, but roomy
  • No front door
  • Clean, uncluttered appearance (a given with Lian Li ;) )

I've been racking my brain over 3 different Lian Li cases - 2 Mid Towers and one Full Tower. I really like the Full Tower's spaciousness and 6x 120mm fans ( :eek: ), but the height of almost 24" (2 feet!) will be hard to fit under lots of desks IMO (It won't fit under my current desk, but I might get a new desk eventually). Anyways here are my 3 candidates:

PC-A70 Full Tower (I LOVE the space, cooling, and 10 HD Bays :eek: ):
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...133&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61&g=spec

PC-V1010 Mid Tower - New Design! (I like the 120mm Chipset cooler):
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...209&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62&g=spec

PC-A17 (I would need to add a second HD Bay to have room for 6 HD's):
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...135&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62&g=spec

So, the Full Tower A70 is my fave from a cooling standpoint, but again I'm worried about the size (will it fit under a standard type desk?). I really don't need all 5 5.25" bays, either (I only need 3 TBH). The 10 HD Slots are also a plus...

The V1010 is a brand-new design (no reviews on NewEgg yet) and it's looking good and appears to have plenty of room (not too tall), but I'm a bit concerned about cooling with only 1x 140mm intake down low (for the HD's + PSU). The MoBo/CPU section doesn't really have an intake, just the "Mid-Plane" Chipset fan and the rear 120mm fan. If you guys think the cooling is adequate on this one then it will likely win my vote! I really like the styling, too!

Lastly, the A17 is like a higher quality Antec 900 IMO. This has the PSU up top like a regular ATX Case (the other 2 cases have PSU's on the bottom). This one also adds a 140mm TOP fan! The one drawback is I would have to buy an extra HD Bay to have room for all 6 HD's - this would also add a second 120mm intake on the front! So 2x 120mm intakes, and 1x 120mm and 1x 140mm exahust! One of my concerns is Video Card clearance with 6 HD's in there. I think I might be in the same boat I'm in now with my Antec SLK-3000B PS - Do you know where to get extra Lian-Li HD Bays for this unit?

Last point - Are the Lian Li fans any good, or should I replace them all with Scythe FDB versions?

Thanks so much! I can't wait to be able to replace my old X800XT video card with my new 8800GTS in whichever new case I get!!!

:cool:
 
You think the cooling is adequate for a semi-agressive Overclocker like myself?

Thanks :cool:
 
I think it would be ok, you could even buy one of those LianLi fans that go in the bay area.

Or, go all out and buy watercooling :beer:

I do like the full tower, that would be a great case to do some mods to :)
 
I was pondering adding a fan or 2 to the V1010 if I go that route. I see Lian-Li offers a PCI area cooler - the BS-03 or BS-06 (Can't find them for sale anywhere online :( ) and I could get by with only using 2 5.25" bays - so that would free up 3x 5.25" bays for an extra 120mm in the front... Water just isn't going to happen on any of my PC's :p

How "Massive" is the full tower A70? Is it friggin' humungous, or is it just a little bigger than say an Antec 900? It is REALLY appealing, I'm just worried about placement options under a smaller PC Desk...

I'd love a little more input/feedback before I drop $300 on a case! I'm just itching to "click" over here :santa2:

:cool:
 
Deffinitely axis i'm with you on that one. Check out some of SilverStones cases also, they are excellent cases as well. But if you are dead set on a Lian Li, go with the 1010...Not as big as full and u wont ahev to add if you had the A17. Then again, the bigger you can add on to and you can always get a new desk, id rather buy new furniture than have to go out and buy new cases bc you run out. You seem like the person who will prob run 10 drives lol.

You know what id do bro, flip a coin, heads big boy tales 1010, always solves probs for me ;)

Innie meenie miney mo, buy a case go go go!
 
LOL!!!

Any specific suggestions? I've had experience with Antec's SLK3000BK and the Antec Solo. While they are nice, I want to move to the next level of quality and fit 'n finish. At this point, I'm leaning HEAVILY towards the Lian Li's - I've made the decision that price is no object. I just want to get the "perfect" case for me that will last for a very long time.

I was very close to getting the NZXT TEMPEST, but I decided it was too gaudy (even if the cooling is pretty sweet):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047

What else approaches the build quality, spaciousness, wire managment, and uncluttered yet sophisticated looks of the Lian Li's?

I'm all ears! :thup:

I might take your advice and go for the gusto of the Full Tower - I DON'T want to replace this case in a few years... So much to consider!!!
 
PS - Directron has the PC-A70 for $199 :eek: ! ($209 double boxed) That makes the full tower $70 cheaper than the Mid-Tower PC-V1010 from NewEgg!!!

Hmmmmmm...

:cool:
 
Get the full and mod it. Even if your not water cooling, get a 3x120 or 2x120mm radgrillz for the top and make it an intake or exhaust :beer:
 
For a full tower, I'd go CM Cosmos 1000 or 1100. Priced at directron for $180 and $229 respectively. The Antec 1200 isn't too bad and is in that price range as well. For a midtower, the CM690 PERIOD. $70 at ncixus.com. While none of the above are Lian Li cases, they all cool VERY well and have excellent cable management. They all can hide a decent WC setup in them as well.

Axis
 
I have never really been impressed with LianLi products... only case I ever picked up I used for about a day and immediatly turned it around on ebay (was an HTPC case i forget the model)

Without real pics of the cases (the links you gave do not do any of them justice) it is hard to do a side by side comparison.

Looking a tthe specs though.. I would go wit hthe A17.

You mentioned need ing to add a cage.. Well add 2 cages. If you put 2 cages in the ODD baysa at the spacious 120mm for 3 hdds... then you get 6 drives to 6 bays. This leaves one for optical and 2 for farting around.

Remove the internal 3.5" bays completely and open up that room for something useful :)

I never understood having more then 2-3 5.25" bays... except for server usage with hotswappability. Since as enthusiasts we are not looking at that.. then.. either ditch 3.5" entirely or cut hte number down.

JMHO of course.

Apart from that.. still have not seen a Lian Li case that looked aesthetically pleasing as well as good airflow.. although.. I will admit by design they should cool nicely. However, you can save a lot of money and get a NZXT Zero case and have a super cool running case with I think 6 or 7 drive bays plus optical room. Was the coolest running case I have ever used in my life. I removed 2 of the side fans to give clearance for the tuniq tower.. .and the other 2 did a great job of cooling hte RAM and NB.

(Any case with side fans will do that though.. .the ones that say the suck air out of the back and doit? not so much.. the rocketfish is a lianli rebadge... and the fan that supposedly cools that GPU/NB area... just does not suck enough. In the sense that its supposed to suck... and compaerd to the other fans in the case (same fans) has about 1/10 the air flow...why they did not brace mount and airhole the side I do not know... thats my upcoming mod (along with ditching hte hdd cages... adding wheels and handles and stuff)

47.99 rocket fish is hard to beat if you dont mind modding :) If you do not want to mod.. .then good luck finding a case :)

Zero is still my recommendation unless you intend to use a few full size cards.. then it could be sticky...(dunno have not tried putting my GTX wit hte extension btracket in there.. .pretty sure i would have to remove that part to install it though...


EDIT: Sorry I know you are looking for an opinion on the cases you mentioned but just wanted to give you the view point that spending that much on a case and not getting everything you need out of it is retarded. All the Lianli threads I see seem to revolve around the mods they need.. .Why spend 250 on a case that needs fixing? JMHO
 
OK. You guys have convinced me to give this another day of thought and research. The CM Cosmos was on my list, but I scratched it off. It will get another look as will the CM690...

That full tower PC-A70 is really looking good for $209 (but still looking BIG too ;) )

Thaks for all of the input and please keep the comments/suggestions coming :thup:
 
Am I mistaken that the CM690 only has 5 HD Slots? I need 6 or more... Are there different versions I'm missing?

I think I'm leaning towards cases that have dual front intakes for plenty of cool air over the HD's and onto the Chipsets. This is making the PC-A70 very appealing. But I am somewhat concerned about the comments of "Why mod a $250 case" - what kind of mods do you think I'd need for my requirements listed above? I have nothing against modding (I'm not too bad at it :) ) but I shouldn't have to mod my "Perfect" case in a perfect World...

Thanks again :cool:
 
Have you checked you local best buy to be sure they don't have a rocketfish (lian li full tower) in stock on clearance?
 
I'll investigate that for sure. Is that essentially the same as the PC-A70 I'm heavily looking at?

Thanks for the tip :D
 
Here's a pic of my 690 loaded with my meager hardwares. It only holds 5 HDDs in the cage but you can get 3x 5.25 to 3.5 adapter and still have two slots for your opticals. You could also put a 120 in front of the HDDs in the 5.25 bays as the outside 5.25 covers have foam filters on them.

hpim0585kp1.jpg


Axis
 
 
Nice pics. While I know I *can* add a "4-in-3" HD Bay (I have a NAS configured that way with 9 HD's :eek: ), I really want to buy a case that already has ample room for 6 or more HD's - so that CM690 is out of the running...

I don't want a front door or a window, so that knocks the Rocketfish out of the running, too :( . It looks like the Rocketfish only has one 120mm rear fan - the Lian Li PC-A70 has two 120mm's on the rear, 2 in front, and 2 "Mid-Plane" behind the HD's... Is that correct?

:cool:
 
Did you see the pics of how it comes out of the box?

no window, also the door is removable, and IMO without the door it looks alot better than the PC-70. 8 HDD slots is nice too.

If you want, i'll find a pic without the door. I took mine off, but didn't think to snap a picture lol.

Edit, yea stock the rocketfish only had one in the rear, and one up front. Then the PCI fan. For the price, its outstanding.

But, the PC-70 looks like a great case too!
 
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